Sunbathing Blackbird

Lade - 0600hrs - cool, cloudy, ne 4 - The day started on a decidedly chilly note with a blasting north-easterly and low cloud. Consequently, there was only 10 species in the moth trap this morning. Over the pits a few Swifts and Sand Martins, otherwise everything else was keeping its head down.
ARC - A quick look from Hanson revealed 5 Blackwits, 2 Dunlins, 2 Redshanks, Greenshank and LRP, all adults. At the south end 4 Little Egrets and another Greenshank, plus a 1st summer Little Gull.
Lade - This afternoon the sun eventually broke through and it warmed up nicely. Across the road from the cottage, beside a sheltered wall, a Blackbird was enjoying the sunshine and remained in the same position basking for 10 minutes until disturbed by a pedestrian. Fascinating to watch and he soon resumed the prone position with wings outstretched and bill agape. Every so often he would fly up onto the wall and preen vigorously before dropping back down onto the grass. A while later several adult Starlings also joined suit.

                                Blackbird, Lade

The Ashes - A bit off topic, but hey-ho. As a cricket lover I`m addicted to Test Match Special on Radio 4 Long Wave, and this 1st Test is shaping up to be a cracker already. But (you just knew there was a `but` coming...) is it just me that finds Geoffrey Boycott intensely annoying? He was wittering on to a clearly agitated Agers this afternoon about how crap England were, in his usual obnoxious manner (he sounded drunk to me). I mean the bloke is a pain in the rear end when he`s sober, slagging all and sundry off, while completely ignoring the fact that he was the most boring cricketer ever to play for England. Why the BBC give him air time is beyond me.
Phew, that`s better, just had to get that off me chest...